A Mix in Mauritius

Port Louis  in Mauritius

One word describes Mauritius, mix. Mauritius is a mixture of all sorts of stuff. How does an island become a mix? The answer is, believe it or not, a mix. Sorry for the scant vocabulary.

Mauritius is the first place we have gone that was not inhabited by indigenous people when discovered by Arabian and later, European explorers. 

As trade routes to the Spice Islands changed from land to sea, countries needed places to refuel, and at the time of discovery, the Dutch East Indies Company was among the most successful. They tried to settle Mauritius five different times during the 1600s, each time the new colony was unsuccessful for various reasons and they finally gave up and just left it in 1710. So, the French took over and this colony was successful, partly due to slaves working the new sugar cane fields. But no island was isolated from events in Europe and the Napoleonic Wars conflict spread throughout the world. Corsairs, French pirates, continually harassed the English trading ships until England sent fleets of warships solely to take over the island and Mauritius finally surrendered to the English with the agreement that England would allow French law and French customs to remain. So even though England ruled over Mauritius for 150 years until independence in 1968, French customs, laws, and language are the mainstay on the island. In 1837, slavery was prohibited, and landowners started bringing in indentured servants from India and Indonesia, causing this Mauritian melting pot of races.

Mauritius is a melting pot for 99% of its population. The other 1% are the Franco-Mauritians, those that started as the land/slave owners who still are the elite, keeping themselves distanced from the rest of the melted. They own 4 of the 5 major business groups and also 2/3 of the sugar cane land. The city’s rugby team is pretty much all white. It is a privileged group. This is what we felt, walking the streets of Port Louis.

Into the melting pot of sorts we ventured, this time going our separate ways. Mark went on the included tour of the Botanical Gardens, the Market, and Fort Adelaide, as well as a quick tour of town, and Carol went off to snorkel. Both guides stressed this mixture, this melting pot of different races, and that all got along very well, each respecting each other’s religion. They all celebrate each other’s religious holidays as they were today. They are happy with the current government, excited about the new train system being built, and said that schools became compulsory in 1976 so education is improving. French is spoken in the schools. Living in peace, seeing the good, and living your life to the Light were our guides’ messages of the day.

Mauritian Dancers on Pier Welcoming Us

Mark’s day…It was Saturday, and a Mauritian Holiday, so things closed down. We took the winding road to the top of the hill and Fort Adelaide, and in the misty rain got out for some views of the city. But the fort itself was closed and all we could see was an immense wall of volcanic lava stones, not even a peephole to see inside. The fort had been built to protect English colonists from attack, not so much from foreign countries, but instead the recently conquered peoples. It never saw any action.  From the hill, we could see the big horse racing track and the shrine for Pope Paul II coming in 1991.

Shrine to Pope John Paul II

Next stop was the Botanical Gardens, the world’s 3^rd largest. Here it was a little confusing, in that the guide said we would have only 15 minutes, so Mark clarified this with the guide and the driver, and then raced around as fast as he could to see as much as possible before going back to the bus where he found the guide giving a tour. Instead of flowers, it was mainly of trees, but it also had a large display of giant lily pads, and a garden of medicinal plants with names and the diseases they were used for.

The Lotus at the Botanical Gardens

 

Our last stop was in the center of town to see the markets. Our bus stopped at the seaside plaza, with the statue of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, considered the Father of the Nation. We took a pedestrian tunnel under their main highway, walked a few blocks and got to their big market, just as the gate was closing for the observance of the holiday, so we went back underground and found a small market on the plaza but only two of the 30 shops were open.

Father of the Country at Seaside Plaza

After getting back to the port, Mark, like Carol earlier that day, began walking “the path” towards town, finding it very difficult, but the locked gate had been opened making for a more direct route to the new shopping area along the city’s waterside plaza. Many locals were enjoying their weekend holiday, despite the drizzling rain.

A few blocks in was the busy city center. At the bus station were 12 city buses lined up for the various bus routes. The street where the market gates had been closed was now a bustling street market with clothes and produce along both sides of the street and a rare motorcycle trying to plow through the walkers.

Further in town were all the expensive looking banks, and next to these were the government buildings. There were several blocks of green space here with huge banyan trees, sculpted for a high canopy. Along the side streets were large areas of tables for selling produce, but currently empty.

 

Farther out from the city center was street after street of three story buildings, the first floor was small shops closed by metal grates, and the above two floors were old not well cared for concrete apartments. Here there was no green space, barely room for parked cars on the streets.  Even though Mauritius statistics showed good average salaries of 14,000, there must be a real discrepancy between the haves an the have nots here. The wealthy houses were further out of town.

Carol’s day…The beginning of my day was a bit like the show "The Amazing Race"… and being directionally challenged, I learned quickly that I would not be a good contestant, although I did make it to the finish with five minutes to spare. As soon as we were cleared by customs at 7:30 AM, I was off to see as much of the city as I could in just two hours. The shuttle buses didn’t start til 9AM so I walked past the colorful Sega dancers arriving to welcome the ship, around the large parking lot, and through the gate of the tall chain link fence with its port inspectors standing guard.

Dancers arriving to Welcome the Ship

Outside the gates, I declined rides from friendly taxi drivers. I walked on, relieved to see a sign for a pedestrian path, only to be stopped by a locked gate five minutes later. Returning down the path, I followed first the bus route…then along curving narrow busy streets, through abandoned lots and construction zones, and then to avoid traffic, into the neighborhoods where I met many of the street dogs the cab drivers had warned me about.

Back and forth along the Pedestrian Path...

Roadblock...resisting the temptation to climb
 over the locked gate...

Back to a gorgeous path of Palms
along the bus route from port...

 through two construction sites...

passing street dogs on quiet residential streets
 where locals directed me to town...

and more street dogs :)

I finally/miraculously made it to the city center! I passed several markets, workers waiting for buses, a boulevard of manicured green space, and from across a busy street, the new waterfront area that despite attempts, I couldn't get to. (Mark later told me about the underground pedestrian tunnel.) I even saw a DoDo bird!

City Market

                                                                                    

Downtown Greenspace

The DoDo Bird...
only found on Mauritius but now extinct

Thanks to directions from many kind English-speaking Mauritians, who by the way also speak French and Creole, I made it back to the port where the shore excursion manager Steve was waiting for me at the restricted entrance holding up my keycard. (Yes, I had many angels that morning!) It had fallen from my backpack when I took out my camera as I left the ship. Without a keycard, I would not have been allowed to enter, and would have missed my 9:30 excursion. Although rushed, it was a fun adventure and in that brief outing, I  got a sense of the island's mix of cultures. Within a few blocks, I saw Buddhist and Hindu temples,  a church, and a small shrine and all colors and dress of people, except white. Ready for my snorkeling adventure, I hopped on the bus.

A Mix of Religions...Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian in one Block

I had plenty of time to unwind on the hour-long bus ride across the island, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say we were in Hawaii...beautiful mountains, lush foliage, pineapple fields, papaya groves, and sugar cane everywhere. The small towns we passed along the way were a real mix of homes, most built with concrete block and many with religious shrines in the yards...a stark difference from upscale Australia and New Zealand.

Sugar Cane 

Pineapple 

Papaya

Houses and Streets of More
Well to do Neighborhoods

Towns Were Called Camps

On the other side of the island, we loaded small boats and soon arrived at Ile aux Cerfs, eager to snorkel off its beaches. Instead, we were met by a group of independent guides telling us the only way to snorkel was to pay for a boat trip, so that's what we did. Due to the cloudiness of both water and skies from past and present rains, the snorkeling was mediocre at best, but fun swimming. The best part of my “excursion’s excursion” was seeing the monkeys in the trees along the river’s edge on the way to a rushing waterfall.

Boats to the Island

Water Brown from Recent Rains

Boatride with Friends Nicole and Patty

Returning to the island it was time for lunch…a three-course meal served under a thatched roof pavilion…local white tuna the main course, delicious, but leaving little time to play on the beautiful beach.

Our Island Retreat

The highlight was talking with a young woman, an accountant, on a holiday outing with a group from her mosque, and a group of young Mauritian men, also off work for the holiday. They eagerly asked about our country and gathered starfish to show us. They also warned us not to step on the abundant sea urchins…the male purple and the female white and delicious to eat. 

Mauritian Young Men on Holiday Finding us Starfish

As Patty and I floated back and forth with the current, a little sprinkle soon turned into a downpour, making it a bit easier to leave this beautiful place after such a brief, but memorable time.

Leaving the island in a deluge added to the fun!

     As we sailed away that evening, we enjoyed the sunset along with a fabulous Indian buffet to celebrate this beautiful nearly melted island...

Indian Buffet Onboard